The first Lufthansa special flight from Israel for German citizens to leave the country took off from Tel Aviv. More are to follow in the afternoon and tomorrow. The Foreign Office is also examining other exit options.
Lufthansa has started bringing Germans from Israel, which was attacked by the terrorist group Hamas, to Germany. The first special flight took off from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt, according to the Foreign Office in Berlin. There are 372 German nationals on board. Further flights on behalf of the German Foreign Ministry were scheduled to follow during the afternoon and on Friday.
Germans who were registered on the Federal Foreign Office’s crisis information precautionary list were able to register for the flights. Lufthansa had agreed to offer up to four flights from Tel Aviv today and tomorrow. Two each should go to Frankfurt and Munich. The departure times on both days were 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. (local time). The flights were expected to have a total capacity of around 1,000 people per day.
Problems booking flights
Almost 5,000 Germans who are stranded in Israel or live in the country have registered on the “Elefand” crisis preparedness list. However, those affected report that the hotlines used to book special flights are extremely overloaded.
Dem ARD Studio Tel Aviv There are numerous statements and letters in which the crisis management of the embassy in Tel Aviv, the Foreign Office and also Lufthansa is massively criticized. It is problematic to even get through to the hotline. “I’ve tried it over 250 times,” reports a German, “I’ve been on the phone for four and a half hours.”
The Foreign Office said it was working hard on a solution.
The Foreign Office is continuing to work on it Exit options
The German Foreign Ministry said that after some airlines had stopped flights, the Foreign Office had ensured that special Lufthansa flights were now flying to Israel. At the same time it was emphasized: “We are continuing to work on options for leaving the country – by plane, by bus, by ship.”
The Foreign Office announced on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that a ferry to Cyprus had also been organized for Thursday afternoon. German citizens were informed about this via the so-called “Elefand” system.
Lufthansa charges 550 euros
According to a so-called compatriot letter from the German embassy in Israel, a fee of 300 euros per person is due to take part in the special flights. The money is to be collected when booking via a Lufthansa hotline on behalf of the German Foreign Ministry. Lufthansa charges 550 euros per person, and the state covers 250 euros.
With information from Julio Segador, ARD Studio Tel Aviv.